The government plans to float shares in the stock market for collecting Tk 200 crore to renovate the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel in view of competition from other five-star hotels in the country.

The civil aviation and the tourism ministry has prepared a proposal in this regard which would be sent to the prime minister's office soon for approval.

The authorities will take necessary steps to float the shares in the stock market after getting approval of the prime minister. A high official of the civil aviation and tourism ministry told The Independent yesterday that the government offered to some international hotel management companies like Marriot in the USA, Oberoi and Taj in India, Inter-continental and Holiday in the United Kingdom and Shangri-La in Hong Kong to run the state-run Bangladesh Services Ltd (BSL) which is managing Dhaka Sheraton Hotel after getting a letter from Starwood Company Limited refusing to run the hotel.

All the above-mentioned companies refused to take up the five-star hotel as its interior decoration and fittings, rooms, kitchen, conference rooms, bathrooms, lobby and bar were outdated, he said. "The multinational hotel management companies assured the authorities concerned that they would be interested to operate the 45-year-old hotel after its renovation," he added. Starwood Company Limited is jointly operating the hotel. It recently informed the authorities that it would not continue to run the hotel as the guests had lodged various complaints with the management of the hotel regarding its present condition that is not in conformity with the standard in other hotels.

The official said as renovation works would take two years, the hotel might be closed down during that period. Sources said the government had not responded to the proposal of closing down the hotel for two years as that would affect its some 700 employees. As an alternative, the hotel authorities have selected a Switzerland-based hotel management franchise company named 'Golden Tulip' to operate the hotel for ten years, Anwar Bar Chowdhury, Secretary of the Bangladesh Services Ltd (BSL), said.

"We have finalised the draft of an agreement which is likely to be signed between the BSL and Golden Tulip to run the Sheraton hotel," he said adding: "We will sign with the foreign company after getting instruction from the higher authorities." Sources said that the BSL selected the franchise company through an advertisement. The BSL is pushing the country's oldest and prestigious five-star Sheraton Hotel in Dhaka city into a franchise deviating from the existing management contract system, which is likely to downgrade the hotel's status to three-star one.

According to the sources, a team of Starwood Company Limited completed the property improvement plan (PIP) on September 17 last to assess how much money would be required for the renovation of the hotel. It is yet to submit its report, the sources added. The hotel earned a pre tax-profit of Tk 220 million in 2008 with a turnover of Tk 900 million during the same period. Starwood's 25-year-deal with BSL expired on December 31 last year. The company later extended its contract with the government till March 31 this year. The company is operating the hotel with the special permission of the authorities.

-The Independent